By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
Less than a year removed from Sheldon Creed’s Camping World Truck Series championship in 2020, the Californian is making the next step up in NASCAR.
Creed, 24, will drive the No. 2 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing in the Xfinity Series in 2022. Coloring the body work as the full-time sponsor of his ride will be Whelen.
For Childress, the longtime car owner will eye his sixth Xfinity title with a driver who’s on-track style fits the team’s brand.
“I just watched his driving talent and his car control, which is a huge thing to me,” Childress said. “[Having] controlled aggression is what you want.
“He also knows that it’s really important to have a sponsor behind you that supports you. To have him with his talent, I think it will make a great partnership for all of us. We’re going to put a really strong effort behind him. A lot of the people who are on the No. 2 car now will be on it next year.”
Creed, who eyes his second straight championship in the Truck Series in 2021, felt welcomed by Childress during the very first meeting.
“There are a lot of teams who don’t like how I drive,” Creed said. “We’ve met with a lot of teams over this year and I felt right away that RCR was home. From my first meeting, it felt warm and they wanted me. That’s what makes me feel really good about this.
“I didn’t want to go to something that couldn’t win and get forgotten about fast. I feel this is a really good opportunity to continue winning. I’ll try to build a foundation to move to Cup.”
With 2022 possibly being a make-or-break year for Creed, he knows the pressure is on en route to a potential Cup Series spot for 2023.
“It all comes down to sponsorship of course and how we run,” he said. “If next year I run 10th to 15th every week, you’re probably not going to run a Cup car [in 2023].
“I just need to go and win races, put ourselves in a shot at winning a championship. If we can do that, I can show that I’m ready for a Cup car. I’ve shown that I’ve won in all the series I’ve come up through.”
Coming soon to a track near you in 2022 🤙@WhelenEng | @sheldoncreed pic.twitter.com/sCsWjWv0ih
— RCR (@RCRracing) October 9, 2021